10 Speed Pin in a 9 Speed Chain

I accidently pressed two 10 speed pins into a 9 speed shimano chain. I rode the bike for 3 hours after I installed the chain and now I can't tell where I pressed in the 10 speed pins. Is there any another way to tell whether it is a 9 or 10 speed pin without replacing the chain? Is it okay to run 10 speed pins in 9 speed chains.

The chain will likely fail

Originally Posted by hankthetank

I accidently pressed two 10 speed pins into a 9 speed shimano chain. I rode the bike for 3 hours after I installed the chain and now I can't tell where I pressed in the 10 speed pins. Is there any another way to tell whether it is a 9 or 10 speed pin without replacing the chain? Is it okay to run 10 speed pins in 9 speed chains.

It's only a question of when. The 9s pins sit almost flush with the outer plates of a 9s chain, so a 10s pin will end up being almost recessed slightly, which is guaranteed to fail. The peened end of the pin will in the side plate, and a few really rough shifts will start to separate it. The replacement pins look noticeably different where the pilot snaps off (after installation). By looking at all the pins you should be able see which ones are the replacement ones. To be safe, it's best to replace the links that the replacement pins were installed into. The replacement pins are slightly oversized and fully peened to compensate for the amount that a regular rivet enlarges the side plate it presses into. Removing a replacement pin leaves a bigger hole that would require and even bigger pin to replace it. For this reason, chains should never be separated at a link previously joined by a replacement pin. HTH

Probably the best way to go

Thanks a lot for your help Unemployed_mechanic. I don't have any links lying around so I'll just put a new chain on to be safe. It's my race bike so I can't afford to have anything fail during a race.

I'm not just saying what Shimano would tell you. I've seen this often, in both my own and others experiences, where and improperly installed chain fails. Before flush-pin chains, re-pressing rivets to connect a chain was perfectly fine. Now chains are so narrow that they have literally no room for error. The pins are usually double or fully peened to expand around the side plate, which means they enlarge the side plate hole when removed. If you don't use the correct connecting link/pin, it's pretty much certain that the chain will fail prematurely. On MTB, it usually amounts to a painful inconvience; on a road bike when someone in an all out pack sprint, a chain break could catastrophic . I err on the side of caution.